


Who You Gonna Call?

by juniperwillows



Series: brotherhood is a choice we make [2]
Category: K-pop, TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Brotherhood, Drinking, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, House Party, Insecurity, Leadership, Light Angst, Protective Hyungs, Protective Min Yoongi | Suga, Sickfic, Singing, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:01:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23012926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juniperwillows/pseuds/juniperwillows
Summary: If Soobin had know that his old schoolmate's "casual hangout" was a wild house party, he never would have shown up, let alone allowed Beomgyu to tag along.But here they are, locked in a bathroom while Soobin tries to take care of a sick Beomgyu, who apparently had never been informed about what the "fruit punch" at parties really contained.And none of the managers are picking up their phones.There's only one option left: their sunbaenims... if Soobin can just convince himself to call.
Series: brotherhood is a choice we make [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620577
Comments: 26
Kudos: 515





	Who You Gonna Call?

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings for drunkenness, vomiting/alcohol poisoning (both non-graphic), and brief bullying.

“Ahh. Pick up, pick up, pick up…” Soobin pressed the phone closer to his ear, trying desperately to hear the dial tone over the sound of the bass thumping through the walls. 

“ _This is_ _Lee Doyoon. Sorry I couldn’t make it to the phone, I’ll give you a call back when I can-”_

Soobin squeezed his eyes shut, heart dropping in his chest, but he waited until the familiar message finished and there was a beep. 

“Hi, it's Soobin again. I’ve tried calling the office and the other managers but no one picked up. I can’t reach the guys either. Um, I hope you get this soon. We're... kinda stuck here... and Beomgyu-ah’s still not feeling well. I... um... just, please call me back when you get this. Thank you.”

He ended the call, staring down desperately at his list of contacts. 

“Was’ goin on?” 

Soobin slid the phone into his pocket, checking to make sure the volume was turned all the way up in case the manager received his messages and called back, and crouched back down next to Beomgyu.

The younger boy blinked up at him from where he was curled around the porcelain toilet bowl.

“...rr’we goin' home?”

Soobin tried his best to fit a reassuring smile on his face for the younger member's sake. “Ah, soon. We just have to wait for a quick call back and then we’ll have a ride home safe and sound.”

_He really, really hoped that was true._

He must have said something wrong though, because Beomgyu’s face scrunched up and- _ah damn-_ moisture began to seep out of the corners of his eyes again. 

“I don’t wanna wait.” He mumbled, rocking backwards in a way that must have been too quick for his stomach because he made an unpleasant face that Soobin had become intimately familiar with in the past hours. He tugged Beomgyu forward just in time for the boy to hunch over the toilet again, heaving.

He rubbed the boy’s back and averted his eyes, trying not to breathe through his nose. 

_Shit, he had to be the worst leader in the history of ever. This was all his fault._

Beomgyu finally finished and sat back, face flushed and eyes red-rimmed, and looking utterly miserable. Soobin wet another paper towel and patted at Beomgyu’s face like he’d seen the noonas do. He placed another damp paper towel on the back on the boy’s neck, holding it gently in place. _That was something you did for sick people, right? Ah, Soobin was so out of his depth here._

Beomgyu dropped his head limply into Soobin’s shoulder.

“I wanna go home.” He mumbled, and Soobin’s heart clenched. 

“I know.” He murmured, tugging his phone out of his pocket and staring at the empty lock screen. “I know, me too.”

But Beomgyu was already hunched over the toilet again, retching. 

Someone pounded on the door. “Occupied!” Soobin called a bit desperately over the sound of Beomgyu being sick.

“You’ve been in there almost an hour already! Let other people have a chance!” A man shouted, banging on the door and jiggling the doorknob. 

Eyes wide, Soobin shoved himself to his feet and to the door, double checking the lock. 

“There’s another bathroom downstairs!” He shouted through the wooden door.

“Yeah, but some dude is passed out in the bathtub in there!”

Soobin frankly didn’t care. The bathroom was tiny and a bit dirty but it most importantly had a lock. Here they were safe. No drunk partiers, no incriminating iPhone photos, no couples making out in the corners.

The man pounded on the door and yelled some more but there was a call for another round of drinks from downstairs and eventually he ambled away.

Soobin chewed on his lip and looked to Beomgyu, whose eyes were closed now, forehead resting against the toilet lid. 

“Beomgyu-ah!” He hissed, fear shooting through him. But the boy just grumbled, cracking open one eye and slurring a _“What?”_

Soobin sunk back, a brief relief sweeping through him. _Still conscious. That was good. Really good._ But they couldn’t stay here forever. Beomgyu needed medicine and water and a _bed._

Soobin opened his contacts again, scrolling desperately through them for anyone, _anyone_ who could help them.

He paused on a contact, running one hand through his sweaty hair. 

_If there was anyone else, he would call them... but… there was no one else._

He listened to Beomgyu sniffle and begin retching again and forced himself to press call before he could talk himself out of it. 

It rang, and rang, and _rang._ And he was sent to voicemail.

Soobin pressed a hand against his eyes, trying desperately not to panic. _What if no one picked up? What if they were here all night? What if Beomgyu was really, really sick, like poisoned or something and he was dying and it would be all his fault, all Soobin’s fault?_

He scrolled again, hands shaking, and tried another number. One he would never have dreamed of calling under any other circumstances. 

It rang. And rang. And rang. And finally, a click.

“Soobin-ah? Why are you calling me?” A gruff voice said and Soobin sunk down to the floor, so, so relieved, just to have _someone_ on the line.

"Hello?” the voice came again, this time annoyed. “Is this a mis-dial?”

He scrambled, pressing the phone closer to his ear and yelped. “No, no, wait Suga sunbaenim, please don’t hang up!”

A mildly surprised pause. 

“Well, go ahead then.” 

Soobin scrambled to gather all his words and explanations, trying to fit it all in before the man could get impatient and hang up on him. “Ah, I’m so sorry to bother you so late, but I tried calling RM sunbaenim first and he didn’t pick up so-”

“I know.” Yoongi interrupted him. “We’re in the middle of recording some things at the studio. Not really the time to take calls.”

Soobin squeezed his eyes shut. This was just getting worse and worse. Interrupting BTS's recording session. Maybe he should just apologize and hang up and not mess up anything more.

But he took one more look at Beomgyu’s tearstained face and forced himself to toughen up.

“I know Suga sunbaenim. I’m so sorry to interrupt. I wouldn’t have called, but…” He chewed on his lips again. “Just... is there a manager there with you? We can’t get a hold of ours and it's... um, an emergency?”

“There’s not one with us right now.” Yoongi was back, but trace of annoyance was gone, replacing with something almost grave. “I’m going to put you on speakerphone if that’s okay.”

“Ah...okay.” Soobin scratched at a stain on his jeans. _Great, the whole group would get to witness his idiocracy._

“You said there was an emergency?” That was Kim Namjoon, the leader. The _very_ imposing leader of multi-billion dollar internationally acclaimed K-pop boy-group BTS. 

Soobin swallowed. “Uh, yeah-” 

Beomgyu took that moment to moan and curl over the toilet again, heaving. Soobin scrambled to wet another paper towel and wipe off his face, his phone clutched between his shoulder and his ear.

“What was that? Is someone sick?”

“Yeah, um, it’s Beomgyu-ah. He’s... throwing up. A lot.” Soobin wiped a hand across his own sweaty brow.

“Ah, that can be scary, but it happens to all of us sometimes.” Jin sounded a bit like he was talking to a child, but Soobin was too relieved to finally have someone on the phone to care. “You said you couldn’t get a hold of a manager? We’ve dealt with stuff like this before. Is he running a fever, and showing flu symptoms? Or is it an upset stomach or food poisoning?”

Soobin bit his lip. “Um... neither? I think... it might be… alcohol poisoning.”

There was a weighty pause. Soobin could hear a surprised intake of breath from someone.

“Alcohol poisoning?” The words held a question, reproach, and worry all in one.

And the whole thing just came tumbling out. “My high school friends were in town and we decided to meet up and Beomgyu tagged along but when we got here it was a _party_ and my idiot friends hid my bag so we had to stay, and while I was searching for it, they had a chugging contest with Beomgyu- they told him the punch was non-alcoholic but turns out it was spiked with _something-_ and he’s never had alcohol before, he’s throwing up _so much,_ and our bags are still missing and we’re locked in the bathroom and _no one is picking up their phones.”_

He was out of breath by the end, eyes growing wet as he curled around the phone, their only lifeline.

A bit of stunned silence and then-

“Soobin-ah, this is Namjoon. Take a deep breath, okay? Where are you?”

It took Soobin a moment to search his mind and recall the address he’d frantically rattled off in his messages to the manager’s but he did, and related it over to them.

“And where are you and Beomgyu-ah right now? Were you the only ones who went?”

Soobin let out a shaky breath. “Just us two. We’re um, holed up in the bathroom on the second floor. I locked the door.”

"What about you, are you alright?”

Soobin nodded even though they couldn’t see him. “I’m fine. Uh, do you think you could get ahold of a manager for me?” 

A slight pause, some muffled conversation that he couldn’t pick up. “Sejin-nim is in a meeting some execs right now and Jigaemae-nim is in the hospital with his wife who just had a baby. The other have already gone home for the day. We don’t have the number for your managers.”

Beomgyu accented this news by giving another pitiful moan. “I wanna go home.”

Soobin dropped his head to rest on his knees, and he couldn’t help the tears that snuck out of the corner of his eyes.

“Soobin-ah? Soobin-ah, are you still there?”

It took him a long moment before he could speak and _still_ his voice wavered.

“Um, yeah. Sorry to bother you, then. I'll just... go look for our bags some more or something, I’m sure there’s a bus…” 

The thought of trying to wrestle the puking Beomgyu into a crowded city bus and then walk the long blocks from the stop to their dorm seemed almost insurmountable. 

A bit of confused silence and Jin said, almost scoldingly. “Soobin-ah, what are you talking about? You can’t take a bus, not with Beomgyu like that.”

Soobin curled tighter over his knees. As if he needed someone to tell what a horrible hyung he was, he already _knew._

“Ah, yeah, a taxi then.” He managed to say.

“You want to take a taxi?” That was Hoseok, his voice incredulous. “They won’t drive you guys if he’s throwing up everywhere.”

And Soobin couldn’t help himself, slamming one hand down on the tile floor so hard it stung.

“Then what am I supposed to do?” His voice broke a little at the end. “No one is picking _up._ ”

He only realized a split second too late that his voice had risen and he’d been yelling. _He honest to god just yelled at his sunbaenims._ Oh god, they were never going to speak to him again. The kids would be so disappointed. He was the worst leader _ever._

Another pause and Namjoon gave a little _ah_ noise. “No, no, no. Beomgyu-ah, I’m sorry, that’s not what we meant. Jin-hyung, Hoseok-ah and I are coming to get you.”

Soobin blinked, almost dropping the phone. “What?”

“Yeah.” Namjoon gave a bit of an awkward laugh. “We’re not just going to leave you there?”

“But...the recording-”

“It’ll be there tomorrow. We’re heading out to the car now- okay apparently Yoongi-hyung too- no Jungkook-ah, Tae, you can’t- we don’t have enough _seats-”_

There was what sounded like a bit of a scuffle on the other end of the line and a shout of _“-my keys!”_

 _"YAH! YOU KIDS-"_ A muffled voice was yelling, sounding suspiciously like the eldest member. 

“We’ll let Namjoon-ah and Jin-hyung handle that.” Hoseok was back. “Do you want to stay on the line until we get there?”

“Ah, yes. Please.”

Beomgyu began another round of heaving and Soobin scrambled to put the phone on speaker so he could have his hands free. The younger boy had gone back to crying, burying his face in Soobin’s shoulder as soon as he could lean back without being sick. Soobin brushed his sweaty hair out of his face, trying to see his friend’s facial expression. 

“Beomgyu-ah, buddy, how are you doing?” 

The boy just mumbled something unintelligible.

“How many times has he thrown up?” Hoseok’s tinny voice asked.

“Um, I don’t know. A lot? Maybe um, seven or eight?”

Hoseok hummed. “Okay. Well, we’re just leaving the parking lot. We’ll be there soon.”

The older man kept up a steady stream of words, telling him funny stories about the other members, like how Taehyung had once spilled an entire jar of tomato sauce on their white carpet at two in the morning only to have Jin walk out of the bathroom and start yelling, thinking that someone had been murdered. Soobin found a smile tugging at his lips at some of the antecedents, though the pit of worry in his chest for Beomgyu didn’t abate. He doubled checked the lock two more times.

“We’re just pulling up. It’s the grey house right, where the flashing lights and music are coming from?”

“Yeah.” Soobin mumbled, feeling his face flush with shame. He couldn’t believe that BTS had to abandon their super important recording to come rescue them from a _party._ Wait, _BTS. Internationally acclaimed BTS._

“J-Hope sunbaenim!” He called desperately. “You guys can’t come in here! What if someone recognizes you and gets a photo?”

“We appreciate the concern, but this isn’t our first rodeo kid. We’ve got masks and hats on.” It was Yoongi’s voice now. 

Soobin jumped, almost dropping the phone, as the banging started up again on the door. 

“I’m serious, I will _break_ this door down!! You better come out right now!” The man was back, yelling, and he sounded even more intoxicated, words slurring together. “You think this is funny?!” The door handle rattled and something slammed into the door, once, twice. 

Soobin shrunk back, hovering uncertainly in front of Beomgyu. _Should he try to bar the door, call for help?_ The lock rattled again.

And all the sudden, a voice snapped over the shouts and the music. “ _Hey.”_

“Who the hell are you?” The man drawled.

_“Why don’t you go find another restroom? This one’s occupied.”_

Was that... _Yoongi?_ Soobin crept closer, trying to make out the voices over the music.

“Dude, they’ve been in there for like an hour!” The man banged on the door in emphasis and Soobin nearly jumped out of his skin.

 _“Well, it’ll be free soon. Just give us five minutes.”_ That was Hoseok, Soobin was almost certain. 

“Why the hell should I?”

The next words were too quiet to hear but the man sputtered from a while before cursing and wandering off. 

_“Damn, Yoongi.”_ He heard Namjoon mutter. _“Harsh.”_

 _"Been a while since I got to do that."_ Yoongi sounded almost gleeful.

_"Yeah, well, those words aren't exactly camera appropriate are they?"_

There was a light tap at the door. 

“Soobin-ah?” It was Hoseok. “We’re here.”

It took him a moment to get the lock undone as his hands were shaking. His eyes took a second to adjust to the dim hallway, where Hoseok, Namjoon, and Yoongi were standing, decked in hats and masks. Their faces were barely visible, but Soobin and the other members had spent enough time following their every move to recognize them despite it. 

“How’s he doing?” Hoseok asked, stepping forward and Soobin moved to the side so they could get access to the boy by the toilet. 

Something in his chest loosened immediately now that they were finally here. He wasn’t alone trying to navigate this anymore. He could sit down on the floor and just fall asleep right now. Part of him really, _really_ , wanted to. 

“He threw up again, but it’s been okay for the past few minutes.”

Hoseok looked over at him. “We should get you both to the car, where are your coats?”

Soobin bit his lip. “I don’t know. They took them with our bags. I searched, but I couldn’t find them anywhere.” He fixed his gaze on the floor. “Um, our wallets and IDs and everything are in there-"

Something in Namjoon’s face hardened and he pushed himself back to his feet. “I’ll be right back.”

Hoseok and Yoongi let him go without a word. Hoseok was talking quietly to Beomgyu, patting off the boy's face and tugging on the shoes that Beomgyu had apparently taken off at some point without Soobin noticing. 

Yoongi stepped inside the bathroom for the first time, but he stopped next to Soobin, his eyes flickering over him. Soobin just focused on trying not to fall over, suddenly oh so exhausted. He could rest now, their sunbaenims were here. 

“How much did you have?” Yoongi asked abruptly and Soobin felt his face flush.

“Two cups." He admitted. "I... should have realized but I didn’t think…” ... _my old friends would be so cruel._

It was so _hot_ in this house. He pushed his sweaty hair out of his face, trying not to show how dizzy he felt. Yoongi’s flat face was gone and he was staring, eyes wide and angry, at Soobin’s cheek. 

“Did someone hit you?” Yoongi snapped loud enough for Hoseok to look up in alarm. He looked like he wanted to come and see but Beomgyu was now crying into _his_ shoulder so he wasn’t really able to move. Soobin knew the feeling. Beomgyu was apparently an octopus when he was drunk. 

_Ah, right_. Soobin reached up to prod at the spot. He’s forgotten about that. 

“Well um.” Soobin ducked his head. “One guy found it really funny that Beomgyu-ah is such a lightweight and was filming and threatening to post it and said some... horrible stuff…” He trailed off.

“And?” Yoongi prompted.

Soobin hunched his shoulders defensively. “And so I punched him… And dropped his phone in the punch. And he swung back.”

Yoongi just looked at him for a moment, and then to Soobin’s shock, he snorted, lips curving upwards. 

Soobin jerked his head up, caught off guard. “You’re not, you know, mad?”

Yoongi shrugged. “Sounds like he deserved it.”

Hoseok shot the man an exasperated look. “ _Yoongi._ ”

The older rapper just rolled his eyes but conceded. “But yeah, don’t make a habit of it, I guess.”

Namjoon reappeared in the doorway, looking rumpled but triumphant. He held up their bags and jackets. “Nothing seems to be gone, but you might want to check just in case.”

Soobin passed Beomgyu’s jacket to Hoseok, and quickly rustled through both of their bags. 

He looked up and nodded. “I think everything is here. Thank you, RM sunbaenim.”

Yoongi huffed from his place leaning against the sink. “For the last time, there's no need for you kids to be so formal. Just call us hyung." 

Soobin blinked at him but finally remembered to nod. 

“We ready to go then?” Namjoon said.

“Ah, no.” Hoseok was still trying to wrestle Beomgyu into his jacket, but every time he went to slide it on, Beomgyu would slip his shoes off again. 

Soobin couldn’t help a small laugh. He crouched next to them. 

“Beomgyu-ah, you need to leave your shoes on. It’s cold out.” He tugged one shoe back on Beomgyu’s foot. 

“My feet want to be freeeee.” The younger boy mumbled. When Soobin moved on to put on the next shoe, Beomgyu slid the first one off again. 

Namjoon sighed, but it looked like he was fighting a smile. “It’s okay. I can just carry him.”

They were almost out through the front hall, walking around the littering of plastic cups and beer bottles, when someone called out.

“Soobin-ah, you’re leaving already?"

Soobin stiffened as he caught sight of his old friend leaning up against the doorway to the living room, a beer bottle dangling from his fingertips. 

"Yes, enjoy your party, Dongyul-ah." Soobin muttered, giving a half hearted wave.

The boy smirked at him. "Let me guess, your managers don’t like cute little Soobinnie going to parties? Wouldn’t want to ruin your adorable _image._ They probably plan every move you make, right? That’s gotta be annoying.”

Soobin stiffened, lips pressed together as his old friend barked a laugh.

“Let’s go.” Hoseok said quietly. 

“Are these your managers here? Guess you gotta do whatever they say.” 

Soobin grit his teeth, but moved for the door. Dongyul pushed off the doorway and stepped out in front of him, blocking his way.

“I see you don’t need your old friends anymore, now that you’ve got idols for friends, and all that money.” The boy shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You're drunk, Dongyul-ah.” Soobin finally muttered. "Please move."

“Oooh, he speaks! Leave all your friends for fame, Soobinnie.” He sneered, leaning forward. “I’m honestly not even that surprised. You’d throw anyone under the bus for yourself.” 

And that... _hurt._ It was drunk words from an angry boy... but Dongyul had been one of his closest friends once. He _knew_ how much his dream of being an idol meant to him. How hard he'd worked to get where he was now. The things he had to give up to get there. 

“I saw Youngsoo-ah’s black eye.” Dongyul continued. “What a way to treat old friends.”

“ _Friends_ don’t get minors drunk without their consent and film them throwing up and threaten to sell it to news sites.” Soobin hissed, taking a step forward to meet his old friend's eyes. “Friends don’t trap you into attending a party you don’t want to be at and friends don’t bully people about stuff like wearing makeup and call them-” 

He cut himself off and stepped back, heart pounding wildly in his chest. He forced himself to take a deep breath, to calm down. _Some things don’t need to be repeated._ “I don’t know what you thought tonight was, but we’re sure as _hell_ not friends.”

The boy sputtered, lost for words for a moment, but finally he just scoffed. “Well, enjoy it while it lasts, Soobin-ah, the fame, and the money, the celebs. You’ll come crawling back to us one day. You and your kid buddies playing at idols… Well, we all know you’re not exactly BTS.”

 _Shit._ It wasn’t like he hadn’t heard it before, a hundred times, but _damn_ , it hit differently standing here, knowing the three members of BTS were behind him. His face flushed with shame. 

“You’ll be surprised at everything they’ll accomplish.” A quiet voice said and Yoongi stepped up beside him. To Soobin’s shock, Yoongi tilted his face upwards and tugged down his face mask, the full force of a fiery glare focused on Dongyul. “Now, if you’ll please excuse us _idols_.”

Dongyul stumbled back, face frozen in shock. His jaw dropped wide, silently forming the syllables _Suga_.

Yoongi tugged his mask back up, one hand on Soobin’s back as he guided the younger boy away. 

Beomgyu took that moment to groan. He slid off Namjoon’s back just in time to stumble forward and puke on Dongyul’s shoes. Soobin backed up quickly, eyes wide, as Dongyul let out a shriek. Soobin was pretty certain Beomgyu was smirking as Namjoon hefted him into his back again. 

The door swung shut behind them, and with it, the blasting music was dampened considerably. Soobin felt like he could breath again in the cool night air. 

“ _Asshole_.” Yoongi bit out, then looked quickly to Soobin. “Sorry-”

“No, it’s true.” He spared one glance back at the house, music still faintly audile. “I didn’t know they’d changed so much.”

“Are you okay?” Hoseok asked as they spilled out into the sidewalk. 

Soobin gave a half-hearted shrug, fixing his gaze on the dark pavement so he wouldn’t have to look at the older boys' faces. “It’s nothing we haven’t heard before.”

“It’s not true.” Yoongi's voice said unexpectedly. But he sounded determined. He put a hand on Soobin’s shoulder, squeezing so the younger man would look at him. “They don’t know anything, they’re just young and angry and jealous.”

“ _Sue it._ ” Soobin mumbled before he could stop himself and then ducked his head. _This is why he never got drunk._

Hoseok laughed and Soobin snuck a look to see Namjoon grinning. Yoongi shook his head but a smile was tugging at the corners of his lips. 

“Aish, you kids.” But he squeezed Soobin’s shoulder again. “You’ll have as many trophies as us one day.”

Soobin felt the breath rush out of him, surprised. “You...really think so?”

“Yeah.” Yoongi sounded completely certain, his eyes fixed on the street ahead.

“You guys are talented and hardworking. You’ll get there too. Just hang in there.” Namjoon added.

Soobin looked back down to the pavement, unable to stop himself from grinning, something warm blooming in his chest.

Hoseok took the moment to sing quietly. “ _Hella trophies and it’s hella thick._ ” Which then set Beomgyu off in half-mumble half-singing the _entire song_ in Daegu satoori.

“Is that what I sound like when I’m drunk?” Yoongi muttered.

“Yes.” Hoseok and Namjoon chorused.

Soobin looked to where Beomgyu’s head was lolling on Namjoon’s shoulder as he finished the song and switched seamlessly into _Dope._

“He’s going to be so embarrassed when he hears about all this.” He sighed.

“Eh. It’s not his fault.” Namjoon shrugged one shoulder, careful of the boy on his back. “We probably need to explain to him about punch at house parties though.”

Hoseok’s face was scrunched up as he watched Beomgyu switch back and forth between the members parts. “ _So cute._ Does he know _Chicken Nood-”_

Soobin almost tripped in his haste to cut off that line of questioning. “Ah, please don’t encourage him! He would insist on trying to do the dance right here on the sidewalk.”

Namjoon gave an amused chuckle, hoisting Beomgyu further up on his back when he began to slip. “He knows our dances?”

Soobin scuffed one foot on the ground, glad it was dark. “Um, actually... we all know a lot of them, sunbae- _hyung_.”

Soobin winced at the slip. It felt so _strange_ to use such an informal term with the people that he'd looked up to for so long and it likely showed in his tone... but none of the elders blinked. 

Hoseok frowned, looking confused. “But you guys never join in at award shows?”

“We just get really... um, intimidated?”

Hoseok stopped on the sidewalk to gape at him. “This whole time you guys made us watch you stand around awkwardly when you could have been dancing with us?" He shook his head, resuming his pace, and leveled Soobin with an unimpressed look. "I’m not going to take any excuses next time, then.”

Soobin still had enough energy to feel alarmed. _Oh no._ They got flustered just _being in the same room_ as the elder group, how in the world were they supposed to handle _dancing with them?_ In front of an _audience?_

Beomgyu had moved on to singing a heartfelt rendition of _Spring Day_ and to Soobin’s horror was actually crying, tears dripping into Namjoon’s designer jacket.

“Is he okay?” Yoongi asked slowly.

Soobin sighed and shrugged. He just wanted to sleep now. Hopefully, Beomgyu didn’t remember any of this in the morning or he’d never be able to look the elders in the eyes again.

“Hey, Beomgyu-ah, buddy, what’s your favorite k-pop song right now?” Namjoon said, ever the negotiator. “Why don’t you sing that for us instead?”

There was a bit of a pause and Soobin mentally prayed that he wouldn’t choose anything embarrassing-

“Fannccyyy oh-oooh-oooh-oooh-” Beomgyu busted out at the very top of his vocal range.

Namjoon actually stumbled on the sidewalk and the other two hyungs turned to look at Beomgyu with wide eyes. 

Soobin had no idea how he was going to salvage their dignity- and then Yoongi began laughing softly. 

Hoseok sang along, miming the dance movements. 

"It's a good song." Namjoon admitted. He hummed along with Beomgyu's drunken rendition slightly off key. Yoongi just rolled his eyes at them. 

There was a van idling by the curb and when they got close the driver's door swung open and Jin stepped out, brow creased.

"Everyone okay?"

Jin stepped forward and Namjoon turned slightly so the elder could reach Beomgyu, pressing a hand to his forehead. The boy was still singing passionately, and the lines on Jin's face relaxed slightly. He stepped back again, looking amused.

"We're good, no one recognized us." Namjoon told him. 

"Except that kid Yoongi-hyung scolded." Hoseok muttered. "But Beomgyu-ah puked on his shoes so he's probably got other things to worry about."

Jin stared at them for a long moment before shaking his head. "I'm not going to ask. Let get you two home."

Beomgyu's singing faded into mumbling as they maneuvered him into the backseat and Soobin buckled him in.

It was a clearly a company van, too large to be anyone's personal car. He wanted to know how Jin had convinced management to let him drive it, instead of one the managers, but he didn't want to ask. He was thankful enough that it wasn't a random manager that they didn't know picking them up. He didn't think he could handle a scolding right now.

Namjoon took the front passenger's seat, and Soobin slid in next to Beomgyu, Hoseok on his right. Yoongi settled in the second row of seats. There was a thud and a muffled yelp and Yoongi suddenly started coughing. 

"You okay?" Hoseok asked, brow creasing.

"Yeah, just... stubbed my toe." Yoongi said, his face expressionless as he looked at Hoseok. 

Jin handed back two plastic water bottles and a trash bag just in case Beomgyu got sick again.

"Thank you so much for helping us out, hyungs." Soobin gave as deep a bow as he could in the backseat of a van. He winced after, hoping Jin wouldn't be insulted at the casual title, but instead the man smiled.

"Don't worry about it." He said. 

They had been driving for a bit, Soobin drifting in and out of a doze, when he heard sniffling. He cracked one eye open.

"Beomgyu-ah, what's wrong?" He whispered, nudging the boy's arm.

There were tears trailing down Beomgyu's face as he gazed out the window at the passing lights, his forehead pressed against the glass.

"The city... it's just so beautiful. Look at that beach."

"That's a billboard for the Bahamas, buddy."

But Beomgyu wasn't listening, now tracing a hand down the window like he was in a drama.

" _If love and hate are the same words, I love you Seoul. If love and hate are the same words, I love you, Seeoouuulll."_

"Ah, that's not... never mind." Soobin sighed, sending Namjoon an apologetic look when he met the leader's eyes in the rearview mirror. The man looked like he was trying not to laugh. There was brief scuffling from behind them and Yoongi coughed a couple times again. _Maybe he was coming down with something..._ Soobin let his head slip back again, listening to the comforting rumble of the car's engine.

There was finally quiet for several blocks when Beomgyu seemed to realize he didn't know the rap verses and fell off into silence. 

. . . 

_"Snowflakes are falling, getting further awaaay. I miss yooouu. I miss yoouuu-"_

"Aannndd he's singing _Spring Day_ again." Yoongi sighed.

Soobin tugged on the younger boys sleeve, trying not to sound as desperate as he felt. "Beomgyu-ah, please... it's the middle of July."

Beomgyu was clearly not going to let anything distract him from his wavering rendition of their sunbae's hit song. " _...I miss yooouuuuu, I miss yoouuuuuuu!!!"_

"I'm so sorry." Soobin apologized, rubbing at his face. 

There was a small giggle from behind them and Soobin glanced back in surprise, only to see Yoongi staring back at him impassively. Soobin slowly turned back to the front.

In the front seat, Namjoon snorted, glancing back at Soobin. "We're a bunch of musicians, drunk singing is pretty typical. At least you guys didn't decide to go swimming in a public fountain, collecting all the coins so you could "steal people's wishes.""

"Hyung, you promised not to bring that up anymore!" A voice complained from the empty third row, and Soobin couldn't help but let out a tiny scream.

Jin jerked, the van swerving slightly and something in the back hit the wall with a thump.

" _Oww!_ Jin-hyung, you're supposed to be a safe driver!" The voice complained. 

There was a sudden rustling and a head popped up over the top of the seats.

" _Taehyung-ah?"_ Hoseok twisted in his seat, gaping.

Yoongi didn't even blink, looking vaguely bored. 

The boy turned a sunny smile to Soobin. "Hi Soobin-ah, Beomgyu-ah. Glad you guys are alright!"

Beomgyu faltered in his song at the distraction, turning watery eyes to Taehyung. 

"Yah! Taehyung-ah, what are you doing back there?!" Jin yelled, breaking the shocked silence.

Beomgyu's face scrunched up at the noise.

 _Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry._ Soobin chanted mentally at Beomgyu.

Namjoon poked Jin in the arm, jerking his head at the backseat, and Jin hastily dropped his voice from a yell to harsh whisper.

"You're supposed to be back at the dorms!" 

"I thought you guys might need backup." Taehyung pouted, resting his head on the top of the seats. "And I wanted to make sure the kids were okay."

He reached forward and ruffled Soobin's hair, who flushed slightly. "Aww, they're so _cute._ "

Namjoon was rubbing at his temples, eyes closed. "How did you even get back there?"

Taehyung shrugged. "We took the stairs and beat you guys to the car."

"... _We?"_ Hoseok said slowly.

Another head poked out. "Hi, hyungs." Jungkook said, sheepishly.

Jin leveled them both with disapproving glares in the rearview mirror.

"Let me guess, Jimin-ah's hiding back there too?" Namjoon sighed.

"Nah." Taehyung said. " _Someone_ had to stay and close up the studio and he lost rock paper scissors."

"When did you guys even have time to _do_ that?" Hoseok asked. 

Taehyun and Jungkook just looked at each other and shrugged. 

"Well, at least get in a _seat_ and buckle in." Namjoon sighed. Jin shot the two dongsaengs a look that said _this discussion isn't over,_ but the two didn't seem bothered, scrambling into the seats next to Yoongi.

Now that Beomgyu had finally settled down, too busy watching Jungkook and Taehyung with wide eyes to sing, Soobin felt safe to relax a bit without having to worry about Beomgyu spilling any deep secrets. His own eyelids were heavy, and his head drooped lower, and lower, until he was bobbing up and down, blinking himself awake every few seconds before the cycle repeated.

Then there was a hand guiding his head to a shoulder and someone patted his head, giggling softly, and Soobin finally gave into the pull of sleep, the car rumbling softly beneath them.

* * * 

There was a slow patter of footsteps, and Beomgyu emerged from the dim hall, his face puffy and hair rumbled. He squinted at the soft kitchen light of the dorm like it had personally offended him. 

"Beomgyu-ah, what are you doing up?" Yeonjun scolded, quickly standing and guiding the younger boy to a seat. "You were really sick last night, you should be in bed. You've got permission from the managers to sleep in today."

Beomgyu seemed pre-occupied, his forehead creased as he rubbed at his temples. 

"Hyung, I think... I had some crazy dreams last night." He muttered. "BTS showed up at your friend's party?"

Soobin carefully didn't take his eyes off his cereal. "Oh, they actually did. The manager's were busy so they gave us a ride home."

Beomgyu froze, staring at the leader with wide eyes. "I... I didn't do anything... weird right?"

"What do you mean?" Soobin asked, lacing confusion into his voice. "What do you think happened?"

"I didn't do any... _singing?_ " His cheeks were flushed bright red. 

Taehyun frowned at him from across the table. "Why would you have been singing? You had food poisoning."

Soobin held his breath, chewing his corn flakes slowly. There was a long pause. Beomgyu shook his head, taking a seat across from them and snagging a breakfast bar.

"Ah, never mind, hyung. Just a weird dream, I guess."

"I always have weird dreams when I'm sick." Kai chimed in, and _thank god_ for the other members inadvertently helping Soobin out.

Beomgyu was looking relieved now, slumping back in his chair. "Yeah, that must have been it." He mumbled.

Soobin just shoveled another huge bite of cereal into his mouth and said, "So have you guys looked at the schedule for today?"

And just like that, the conversation moved on.

Soobin finally relaxed, slumping back in his seat. _Maybe he could convince the managers to let him dabble in acting, clearly he had a talent for it._

They had decided that there was no reason for Beomgyu to be told of what had happened, considering it wasn't really his fault. Also he would probably never be able to be in the same room as Namjoon again without passing out from pure embarrassment if he knew he had thrown up on the man's two-thousand dollar custom shoes in the middle of a dramatic and heartfelt rendition of NCT Dream's _Chewing Gum_.

 _"Eh, they were ugly anyway."_ Taehyung had announced there in the parking lot, as Soobin apologized profusely. Yoongi and Hoseok nodded in agreement. Namjoon looked a little insulted but just shrugged, looking resigned. The manager who had finally, _finally_ picked up his phone and panicked at the seventeen missed calls, looked between them all, confused. 

"We've all gotten food poisoning at some point, it's okay." The leader said. 

"Yeah, next time don't eat shrimp from a sketchy take out place, Beomgyu-ah." Taehyung tacked on, patting the boy on the arm.

It took Soobin's brain several long moments to catch up, but then his eyes darted over to the manager. He was suddenly filled with gratitude.

"Drink lots of fluids and stay hydrated." Jin told them. "You should ask the manager for the morning off, at least."

"Hope you feel better soon." Jungkook said quietly, but genuinely. 

The manager led Beomgyu away towards their own van, and hopefully soon, to the dorms, where Soobin could finally collapse. He trailed behind, giving a awkward wave of goodbye. Taehyung, Jungkook, Jin, and Hoseok waved back and Namjoon joined in after a long pause. Taehyung leaned over and grabbed the stone-faced Yoongi's arm and held it up so it looked like the rapper was waving too. 

Soobin resolved to make them a thank you card as soon as he could. 

* * * 

It was at an awards show several months later, when they were all loitering around on stage waiting for the program to start again, that they found themselves situated next to BTS.

Taehyung turned to them, grinning brightly. "How have you all been?" He asked, wrapping an arm around a shell-shocked Beomgyu's shoulders.

"We've been good, hyung." Soobin replied. The others turned to look at him with wide eyes at the informal speech.

Jungkook ambled over, Jimin by his side. "Your performance today was great!" He told them. "I really liked your solo, Kai-ah." 

Kai gave a jerky nod. He looked like he was about to pass out. 

Now Hoseok had come over, joining their little circle. "Beomgyu-ah, you're a big fan of TWICE, right?" Hoseok said, clapping him on the shoulder. "You should go congratulate them on their win. Could be the start of a great friendship."

Beomgyu's eyes darted back and forth. "Oh, um, how did you know that, sunbaenim?" _That wasn't exactly information he went around announcing._ Usually in interviews he listed BTS or one of the other boy groups.

But Hoseok had already moved back to BTS' line, something in his eyes twinkling as he glanced back at Beomgyu. 

Beomgyu scratched distractedly at his neck, turning to Soobin. "How did he know that, hyung?"

Soobin was avoiding his gaze.

Beomgyu looked back to Hoseok and caught Namjoon's eyes purely on accident, and the leader gave a friendly smile. Beomgyu felt himself glancing down to the man's shoes, some dim memory nudging at the corner of his mind. Wait... _wait._

His stomach dropped. _His "dream" the night he was sick._

His face was flushing red, he could feel it. Beomgyu twisted back to Soobin. "Hyung, _how did he know that?"_

Soobin inched his way towards the edge of their little line, away from Beomgyu, eyes studiously fixed elsewhere like he hoped Beomgyu would drop it.

"You said I didn't do anything weird!" Beomgyu hissed, sidestepping around Kai to follow.

"Technically, I never _said_ that." Soobin said, a bit desperately. "Just kinda implied-"

Beomgyu lunged for him.

The leader darted out of his reach and Beomgyu took off after him, darting across the stage-

_"Hyung!!!"_

* * *

But they did get to dance with BTS on the encore stage that night. It was probably the highlight of Beomgyu's career so far. So maybe, just _maybe_ , the whole catastrophe had been worth it.

Beomgyu got a flash of memory of himself, crying into Namjoon's shoulder about _Spring Day_ as the poor man just tried to get him to the car, and winced, face flushing red even though he was alone. 

_Maybe._

**Author's Note:**

> Important Note:  
> Medical information has been changed to fit the storyline of this fic!!! It is important to seek immediate medical help if you suspect that someone has alcohol poisoning, which can be fatal! Beomgyu showed some symptoms of alcohol poisoning, like vomiting a lot and severe confusion, and it would have been best to contact emergency services!  
> A trip to the ER just didn’t fit with my storyline. : )
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this one! Have a great day!!!


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